


what is right, what is easy

by hi_hello_hey_there



Series: you don't have to say i love you (to say i love you) [10]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: (it's not so much a redemption as it is growth and realization but whatever), Carrie Wilson Redemption, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Gen, Julie and Carrie Talk, Trapped In Elevator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:21:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27786667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hi_hello_hey_there/pseuds/hi_hello_hey_there
Summary: "I'm sorry for your loss."
Relationships: Julie Molina & Carrie Wilson
Series: you don't have to say i love you (to say i love you) [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1942267
Comments: 5
Kudos: 124





	what is right, what is easy

**Author's Note:**

> Beta read, as always, by the amazing Cassie. Check her out at [findingsofafangirl](https://findingsofafangirl.tumblr.com/) and [academia-and-politics](https://academia-and-politics.tumblr.com/).

Carrie is never late. To anything. Ever. Her dad even tells her how she was right on time for her birth, exactly the due date the doctor had predicted. So when she finally gets to school after battling the horrendous thunderstorm outside to find the hallways empty, it’s more than a little irksome even after the hellish weekend she’s had. Between visiting Nick in the hospital to see him in his nearly comatose state and the absolute bomb her dad decided to drop on her, it’s a miracle she even left the house at all today.

She sighs and reroutes to the main office so she can check herself in a get a late slip. This wouldn’t have happened in the first place if she had just gone to bed and slept instead of having her whole world completely rocked last night. She supposes such earth shattering things required the attention of a mild breakdown. The office lady seems shocked to see her and checks her in silently while the principal does announcements.

Pale blue late slip in hand, she hurries to her locker to grab her books for first period. She realizes with a groan that her first class of the day is on the top floor of the building and she’s really in no mood to climb four flights of those steep stairs. So she rounds the end of the hallway and wastes no time getting to the elevator. Technically, it’s for people who are injured or can’t do the steps, but honestly she’s so distracted this morning, she wouldn’t put it past herself to accidentally trip and fall and hurt herself, so really she’s just cutting out the middleman.

But when the doors finally open, she seriously reconsiders her choice when she sees none other than Julie Molina standing there, using her crutches for support. Carrie steels herself and walks inside. Ever since the Orpheum, things had been weird between them. Neither of them went out of their way to be nice to each other but now their backhanded remarks have slowed to a stop and they just avoid each other.

With her new knowledge, however, Carrie feels kind of awful for inadvertently getting Julie caught in the crosshairs of an adult situation she didn’t have the handle on she thought she did. “Hi,” she says, still not making eye contact.

“Me? Me, hi?” Julie asks and when Carrie turns to her and nods she goes, “Oh, hey.”

And now it’s awkward. The elevator beeps are the only thing filling the completely tense silence that’s risen between them. Carrie does her best to ignore it, but she’s not really used to… whatever this is. She’s about to say something, anything, before there’s the sound of mechanical rattling and the elevator shudders to a halt. “What’s going on?”

Carrie will deny it if anyone ever asks, but she shrieks when the lights go out, the emergency lights hardly doing anything to soothe her. “The power must have gone out,” Julie says, her voice sounding distant. Her breath starts to get shallow and her face looks panicky. Carrie is suddenly struck by a memory she hadn’t thought about in years.

_ When they were little, they had decided to play hide-and-seek and it was Julie’s turn to hide. Carrie had searched and searched and searched, unable to find her friend anywhere. When her dad called her down for dinner, she was hysterical. She and her mom and dad, along with Julie’s parents, had gone on a hunt through the house. They finally found her in the cedar chest in Carrie’s closet, curled in on herself. Once she popped the lid, Julie shot out and wrapped herself around Carrie. “Don’t leave me like that again!” The girls were both crying and Carrie promised not to. _

Julie seems to be heading toward hyperventilation, so Carrie moves without really thinking of the consequences. “Come on. Let’s sit,” she says, removing the crutches from under her arms and carefully lowering her to the floor. She follows suit, abandoning the crutches and her bag in the corner. “What do you need me to do?”

“Can you just, um, hold my hand and squeeze?” Julie flips her hand over and Carrie threads their fingers together, squeezing in short bursts. They sit there silently as Julie works to get her breathing under control. It’s a few minutes before she takes a big, deep breath and lets it out in one gust. She keeps her eyes closed, grip on Carrie’s hand tightening on and off all the while. Once she’s breathing normally again, she asks, “How did you know what to do?”

Carrie looks over to see Julie is already looking back at her. “I remember from when we were kids- you used to be really claustrophobic.”

“Oh,” is all she says. Then she tacks on quietly, “I remember you had to separate M&Ms and Skittles by color before you could eat them.”

“I still do that,” Carrie confesses with a light chuckle.

“Guess we aren’t so different after all.”

“Guess not.” They fall back into silence, the air around them not as heavy this time. Carrie’s eyes land on the button panel by the door, zeroing in on the emergency phone. “I’ll be right back. I’m just gonna-” She points at the call button, standing and approaching it. Even though this is an emergency, she still feels like she’s breaking a rule when she presses the button.

“You have reached the elevator service hotline. Is there an emergency?” a male voice announces from the speakers.

“Um, yes,” Carrie begins, unsure of what she should say. She looks back to Julie who gives her an encouraging nod. “We- we got stuck in the elevator when it stopped all of a sudden. I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Please tell me your location and I will dispatch someone to you.” The man is very matter of fact, though Carrie supposes that’s best in situations like these.

“Los Feliz High School.”

“Someone will be there to help within the next hour and a half. Is there a medical emergency?”

Julie is better now, neither of them on the verge of passing out or anything. “No,” is all Carrie can say.

“Feel free to contact this line any time before help arrives. Remember to stay calm and don’t try to pry the doors open. If there’s nothing else you need, I’m going to disconnect now.”

Carrie looks to Julie again and neither of them sure if there’s anything else to report. “I think we’re okay for now,” Carrie lets the man know.

“Okay. Don’t hesitate to call again if need be.” And the line disconnects, plunging the car back into silence.

“Well, that was… something,” Julie laughs quietly. She pats the ground beside her and Carrie is a bit surprised that she still wants to sit by her.

“Yeah,” she responds as she joins her again and crosses her legs at the ankle, leaning her head against the wall. She wants to say something about the conversation she had with her dad but she has absolutely no idea where to begin. She figures anything is better than nothing and settles with, **“I’m sorry for your loss.”**

“Huh?” Julie’s voice is full of shock.

“I never got to tell you how sorry I am I wasn’t there for you when your mom passed.” Carrie doesn’t know where she’s finding the words, but she doesn’t stop herself. “It was right after we stopped being friends. I was so… angry. You’re mom and my mom had left us at the same time and I was bitter and upset and mad and I took it out on you. I’m sorry.”

“Hey,” Julie says, reaching for her hand again. Carrie lets her link them again. “It’s not your fault for having emotions.”

“My dad finally decided to tell me he was in a band when he was younger. It’s how he met my mom, apparently. Yours too.” Carrie takes a deep breath before launching into the next part of her explanation. “There were four of them, thick as thieves the way dad tells it. One day, the other three get into an accident and none of them survive and dad was torn up. He says he was lucky to have our moms there as support.

“After a while, his solo music had started to get less popular and our moms were trying to help him out of his slump. You and I were friends at this point. Eventually, my dad told them that his early stuff had actually been written by the band’s frontman and he just wanted to honor his bandmates. They were livid, your mom being a musician and mine a painter and all that. They knew firsthand what it was like to have your work stolen without any credit.

“That’s when my mom left and when your’s went not too long after, I felt abandoned. It’s not like either of us had any idea what was going on, but you weren’t coming over after that and I blamed everyone but my dad. I know why he did it, but that it doesn’t make it right. And neither is the way I acted.”

“Apology accepted,” Julie says, rubbing her thumb over Carrie’s knuckles. “You’re right: I didn’t know what was happening. My mom said that I wasn’t allowed at your house anymore and I didn’t know what to do. And when you started avoiding me at school, I thought it was something I had done, so I left you alone.”

“No, it wasn’t you.” Carrie lifts their entwined hands and places it on her leg. “I missed this.”

“What?”

“Being your friend. And Flynn’s.” She scoffs. “This stupid rivalry or whatever. I never understood why we got mean with each other.”

“For the record, I miss being your friend, too, but Flynn might take a little convincing.” It causes both of them to get a good laugh going. When it fizzles out, Julie asks, “Have you spoken to your mom lately?”

“Yeah. I called her last weekend, but her and her girlfriend are in the middle of presenting some art exhibit in New York, so we didn’t get to talk for long.”

“Well, that’s too bad. I bet she misses you, though.”

And just like that, the past year and a half of bad blood between them is gone. They talk about everything while they wait from Nick drama to work loads. A lot of their conversation centers around music, band stuff, and the fact that Carrie is trying to learn how to play drums. It’s like old times when they could just talk for hours on end about anything or nothing at all. Carrie really has missed this and she gives Julie’s hand a squeeze while she’s explaining something funny her brother did to let her know. She doesn’t stop talking, just leans her head on Carrie’s shoulder and gestures with her other hand to emphasize her story.

It can’t have been an hour yet by the time the elevator starts to slowly lower, cutting their chatter off abruptly. They eventually reach the lowest level, the doors opening in segments like someone is prying them open from the outside. Carrie stands and helps Julie to her feet- well, foot -and hands her back her crutches.

Beyond the doors is darkness, illuminated by the flashlights on the fire fighters helping them out. Principal Lessa is with them, waiting for them to exit. They are informed that the power went out and the backup generator had been slightly damaged in the last few days of rain and hail, so they ended up stuck instead of being let out like they should have been. “Are you girls alright?” Principal Lessa asks, assessing each of them.

“I think we might be late to class, but don’t worry,” Carrie says, fishing around in her pockets, pulling out her late slip. “I have a pass.” Julie starts to laugh and Principal Lessa indulges a fond chuckle.

“Your father is waiting for you, Julie. We’ve sent everyone home until everything is fixed.” The principal turns to Carrie. “I couldn’t get ahold of your father. Is there someone else we can contact?”

Before Carrie can scramble for a response, Julie is answering, “She was actually supposed to come home with me today.”

“Well then, go on. Rest up, you two.”

Carrie feels the lightest she has in weeks as she makes her way outside to where Mr. Molina’s familiar van is parked just beyond the front doors. It’s like nothing has changed when he greets her and doesn’t even ask why she’s coming home with them. She can’t believe she let a disagreement of their parents come between her and one of her oldest friends. So she just soaks in the nostalgia of it all as Julie turns up the radio and they sing along.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been studying for finals for so long and I haven't been doing much writing and it feels weird. Like really weird. My eyes burn always and I'm perpetually tired. After my exams are over, I'm going to slip into a nice refreshing coma so please let me sleep. This is coming at you a little earlier than usual because I'm sure after I'm done with everything I have to do today, I'm gonna pass out. Your comments have been so sweet, I love you all so much. They keep me going! As always, prompts are open from [this list](https://p0ck3tf0x.tumblr.com/post/98502010026/one-hundred-ways-to-say-i-love-you) except for 7, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 26, 31, 33, 37, 38, 39, 41, 44, 48, 49, 50, 53, 57, 62, 63, 64, 65, 67, 70, 82, 83, 86, 91, 98, and 99. You can drop a comment here or send me a DM on tumblr. Also, the title comes from the quote “Do what is right, not what is easy nor what is popular” by Roy T. Bennett. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed, lovelies.
> 
> main: [hi-hello-hey-there](https://hi-hello-hey-there.tumblr.com/)  
> side: [toziers-token](https://toziers-token.tumblr.com/)
> 
> love, blue


End file.
